‘After nearly destroying the world, our relatives are allies’: the thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity edged closer toward destruction than at any other point during modern times. This happened following the discovery that a US surveillance plane identified that Russian atomic missile sites were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to establish a naval blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period was almost two weeks filled with unbearable stress.

The Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained clear. If Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a cascade involving global nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting civilization toward all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new perspective to the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men who, over 13 days, held the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What was the United States considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people detest one another and oppose each other?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that humans can be allies or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and now an author as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Disaster

What’s notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens globally could watch almost in real time as it crept closer to disaster. However, the risk of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would have launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, during those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, though, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"We aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is a shame since we got along really well and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our families have become friends, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn